


Empty End

by Starling (StarDandere)



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, POV Second Person, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 09:32:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15288621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarDandere/pseuds/Starling
Summary: You awaken once again in an unfamiliar place. Something deep inside you feels very wrong.Post-sub ending





	Empty End

For the second time in a row, you wake up with little recollection of how you got there. Your neck aches as you twist it to get a bearing on your surroundings, the awkward positioning of your slumber the culprit in its strain. You've been shoved into the back seat of an idle jeep; it's dark outside, and the cheek you push against the window glass immediately goes cold from the outside temperature. That cold seeps its way into your entire body and you involuntarily shudder. Something deep inside you feels very wrong.

 

A deep groan draws your attention back outward, and you look over to see a large man- no, Seven stirring awake. Memories from before begin to stir in your mind, like a pot about to boil over. You push it down.

"Damn, what the hell..?" Seven pinches the bridge of his nose as if fighting off a headache. Your own head feels like someone took a sledgehammer to it.

"Hey," you try to greet him with, but it barely escapes your dry, scratchy throat. You grimace at the sensation before trying to cough it away; more pain erupts at the sudden irritation.

 

It draws Seven's attention though, serving at least that purpose for you. His brows furrow as he squints to make you out in the darkness, before he appears to recognize you and relaxes.

"Oh, Junpei." He readjusts himself into a more comfortable position; you would do the same, but all of your limbs feel like lead. "Where are we? Did we make it out?" He lifts his left arm and rolls up his sleeve. There's no bracelet, which makes you look down at your own wrist. Nothing.

 

"Seven, correct?" An oddly familiar voice comes from the passenger seat in front of you. As your still pounding mind struggles to identify the person without moving, Seven uses his view of that seat to his advantage.

"Wha-  _ Snake _ _?!"_ Unwillingly, the gore in the shower room fills your mind's eye. That alone is finally enough to shake off the paralysis that had claimed your limbs, and you pull yourself up.

_ " What _ _?!"_ That exclamation strains your voice into coughing again, but you don't care. You don't care because Snake is alive, and that could mean-

 

"Easy Junpei, you don't sound well." You can hear the concerned frown in his tone. "I'll be more than happy to answer your questions, but I'm afraid I would rather mine addressed first, the first of which being where are we exactly?"

"In a car?" You mumble, finding it only slightly better; your voice still barely comes out little more than a croak.

Snake, with his exceptional hearing, manages to hear it regardless, and when Seven doesn't add on he sighs. "I deduced that much already. I suppose that would make all three of us in the dark, unless our fourth occupant has any clue." He tilts his head toward the driver's seat, which you turn your attention toward.

 

It's Lotus. Her eyes are closed, and so you can't help but reach out and bring your fingers near her mouth to check her breathing. She's alive, simply sleeping. You sigh in relief and lean back. Seven leans forward after, shaking and calling her with a surprising amount of gentleness until she finally awakens. The confusion Seven had displayed is repeated with her, though at that point your mind begins to wander away from them and back to Snake. In the dim moonlight, you can barely make out the features of his face, which only adds to the surreal feeling thick in the air.

 

Desperate to confirm reality, your eyes move to scan the car for anything useful. You quickly find the keys in the ignition and lean in through the front seats' gap to turn the car on. It rumbles to life, blasting your face with freezing air. You quickly switch the AC from cold to warm at Lotus' complaint.

 

With the light of the powered car, you and your two abled companions peer out into the darkness. A giant building looms to one side, empty desert the other. Seven relays as much to Snake - who you discover is wearing some weird robe for clothing - and he finally provides an answer to one of your questions.

"It seems as if we were in a place called Building Q, not the Gigantic. Which would make sense, seeing as the actual Gigantic is currently at the bottom of the ocean with its sister ship."

"Building Q..." Seven echoes. The location bounces around the inside of your head, a nagging sense of recognition itching at your mind.

 

... It's no use. You can't remember.

 

"How do you know about this place?" Lotus beats you to asking the next question on your mind.

"Hm." He hesitates in answering. "I saw this place through my sister's eyes, 9 years ago." He elaborates no further than that, quickly changing the topic with, "Where is Clover, by the way? Do you see any other cars? Surely if Zero pulled us out of the game, he would've done so with everyone; the rest of them can't open the number 9 door."

 

To avoid thinking about the truth, you focus on the math. 1 + 3 + 4 + 6 = 14, a digital root of 5. It doesn't help; your stomach still churns.

"I... I dunno," Seven lies, scratching at his beanie in discomfort, "The three of us split up to go through door 2, and we... got gassed before we met up with 'em again."

 

A moment of silence passes, before Snake abruptly exits the car. You call after him, along with Seven and Lotus, but he doesn't stop. Mouthing a series of curses, you throw open the car door and rush after him, stumbling as your body adjusts to the sudden movement.

"Wait!" You grab his wrist. With little effort, he breaks free.

"I'll be fine, Junpei. I need to go find Clover." Something in his voice sounds off; it occurs to you that he likely already figured out the truth. He turns to continue towards the building, and you don't have the will to try to stop his pointless, denial-driven endeavor again.

 

Seven does, however. "Kid, you need to listen." He clenches down on Snake's shoulder with a firm hand. "It's just... it's not safe, alright?"

"Nonsense." Snake attempts to jerk away, then again much harder when his first attempt fails. "I am perfectly capable of defending myself and Clover if the need arises. You would be foolish to underestimate me, Seven."

 

Lotus, initially reluctant to leave the car, finally emerges with a huff. "Snake, she's, Clover's dead. Her and everyone else, they're all dead."

"This is hardly the time for jokes." Snake's voice sounds as hollow as your heart. When no one responds, he spins toward you, expression desperate. "Surely you need to go back for June, right?"

A beat passes as his words sink in. Then a bark of laughter escapes your sore throat; Seven and Lotus give you a pitying look.

 

To him though, that reaction must be unexpected. Of course it would be; he can't see the spots of dried blood on your clothes and beneath your fingernails. He wasn't there, watching you scream and writhe as Seven tried to pull you away from Kanny's corpse, only giving in when white smoke claimed your consciousness. Even now, a strong part of your mind wants nothing more than to run back to her side and remain there, even at the cost of your life. In that regard, you suppose you and Snake are feeling very similarly.

 

"What's the point?" A thought that had been plaguing your mind finally slips out. The emotion in your hoarse voice makes Snake's shoulders sink, defeated. The pity for you is redirected to him.

"Let's go," Seven says, guiding Snake back to the car. When you don't immediately follow, having turned your attention toward "Building Q" almost longingly, Lotus pulls you by the wrist toward the car as well.

 

Only part of you is thankful for her interference.


End file.
